A white police officer from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin has found himself in hot water today after getting caught on camera repeatedly punching a black 17-year-old in the face.

The teen, who was also being restrained by a mall security guard, took multiple blows to the face while both standing and lying flat on the ground. Officers had responded to calls from mall security in Wauwatosa for disorderly conduct, at which point the overzealous officer showed up and dealt the blows.

While the teen was acting in a disorderly manner, the police officer – who is visibly larger than the teen, and had the help of another adult male – did not need to revert to such cruel behavior to subdue him.

“I can assure you that we take all situations seriously when they involve a use of force by our officers,” Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said in a statement. “We thoroughly review all incidents in which force is used by an officer and will do so in this incident, as well.”

While this officer was in the right to arrest a teen who was breaking the law, the fact that he couldn’t do so without breaking the law himself – disregarding his own training and instead opting to assault the young man – is illustrative of a much larger problem in society today.